Brussels comes 32th out of 146 in the rankings for most congested cities in the world, says Tomtom in a press release on Tuesday. The software publisher and GPS manufacturer made public a survey on the impact of traffic jams. On average around the world, commuting time for car drivers doubles at peak times. In Brussels, Tomtom reckons the congestion ate is 33%, which means that an average commute takes 33% as long as it should because of traffic jams. Congestion rates increase at peak times: mornings and evenings, a 30-minute home-workplace commute takes 25 minutes more, points out Tomtom. Motorists who have a 30-minute commute waste 94 hours a year on average because of traffic. The worst time for commuting is Friday evening, when commuting times go up by 82%. The record for congestion was registered on December 12th, 2014. Brussels ranks 32nd in the list of congested cities with more than 800,000 residents.
In Antwerp, the average congestion rate is 28%. Commuters with a normal 21-minute home-workplace trip lose 21 minutes a day navigating traffic, which adds up to 81 hours a year.
In Liege the average 30-minute commute increases by 25%, adds Tomtom. Every year, traffic jams in and around Liege cost commuters 59 hours.
Istanbul comes top of the ranking for the world's most congested cities, ahead of Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Mexico City. Motorists in the Turkish capital can expect congested roads to double their commute, with a congestion rate of 109%.
(Source: Belga)
